Bulb loading apparatus



y 1954 D. L. KINGSTON ETAL 2,683,538

BULB LOADING APPARATUS Filed May 24, 1952 3 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTORS DONALD L. KlNGSTON BURLEIGH LEACH 05; a W m /02 mo EY y 1954 D. 1.. KINGSTON ET AL 2,683,538

BULB LOADING APPARATUS Filed May 24, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 :h A: 3a 34 h |HlHHm 5 INVENTORS DONALD L. KINGSTON URLEIGH LEACH ATTORN Y July 13, 1954 D, L. KINGSTON ET AL BULB LOADING APPARATUS 5 SheetsSheet 3 Filed May 24, 1952 INVENTORS DONALD L. KINGSTON BURLEIGH LEAC BY ORNE Patented July 13, 1954 This invention relates to, the; manufacture :of electric lamps and similar'zdevices employing'i'a bulbous envelope and more particularly tozappa-i: ratus for feedingbulbs to s'a'sealing. machinerm In the manufacture'o'f electric lamps and-other electrical devices in which a bulbous envelope'is one of the-components thereof,lbulbs and moiints are fed to heads on -a-sealing 'machine; i-'The heads, are advanced toa plurality ofwo'rk sta tions wheresealing of the mount to thebulb effected. In, some casesthe bulbslare fe'dtoatlie sealing machine heads manually'l'and-k in other casesthe bulbs are fed automatically-,5 Automatic feeding of bulbs is usuallylaccomplishedby means of a transfer mechanism:.which:.'carries each bulb to a position above andoin register with the bulb holder of a sealing machine head and theri drops it into the bulb holder. In r'nost-CasesthiS type of mechanism has performedthe-operation satisfactorily. However, somebulbs, due 'to their configuration,v present more problemsthan others in effecting this transfer.. Onetypeof. 'bulblin thiscategory is known inythe .arteszan-SGr-Gt bulb. The diameter of the culletrof S6'-:G4 bulbs is greater than the major diameter jof the bulb' itself. Feeding ofthis typeof bulb by thecon; ventional transfer mechanism. just describedwisf therefore not possible since, the cullet is 1 too large: to pass between the fingers of the bulbtholderi Therefore, an object; of this ..invention' to transfer bulbs automatically;, g,-

Another object is ,to automatically;transfer: bulbs, the cullets ofwhichare of greater diam-"- eter than themajor diameter of the;.bu1b itself-.:

A t r b e i be l tQmat a lyf d-b lbs; the cullets of which are Of -greater dianietenthanthe major diameter of the bulb itself, the: heads of a sealing machine,

h r Ob t ac mp i h the (ab rt-lv mentioned objects at. a minimum; expense and with a minimum alteration of, presently ern ployed apparatus." v I: v. f

These and other 'obje tS are [attained in cordance' with the principles 'of invention illustrated and described inthejaccompany I specific embodimentthereofby mountiii a stag: tionary cam adjacent to the path normally trav eled'by a bulb as it is fed to'a seal-ingmachine head and by pivotallymounting the bulb transferhead and proViding-itwitha cam roller; The contour of the channel cut'in the stationary c'am is such that, ass-the. cam roller moves therethrough, :the bulb carried by'ithe' bulb. transfer head will be deflected sufficiently from thelvertiei cal to cause; the culletlthereofito pass-outside a l. l. 2,683,538,

.i it-e a a Donald -L.1 -Kingston, Marbleheaifand' :Burleighl I Leach, 'Hamilton, Mass.

i 1 ,Electric I ProdpctsInc.-,; Salem t! Mas ac us assi mrszt :i si va fav the tlngers of the sealing machine bulbglholderj vertical" 'i ofathe bulbtransfer head: 46

instead of i-be'tween them; After; the .iculletj Ijof the b'ulb; has j passeoh the fingers of:--the sealing machinezjhulblholderj the :bulb? isjreturned to. the and? seated .on' the, :fingers ofgthezbulb. holder? .152; xii-Q11; it? .J In; the specific: [embodiment of a our7 invention illustrated:;in the'laccompanying drawingsw ZFiEIlIG'ilfiSLfl plan-view of the apparatus; 0 Q0111, invention andlthe apparatus iwithgwhichitis associated; :-viz'., I Etiablllb :feedinge1turret,a; bulb transfer Larm sand 1 a sealingcmachinez a 1 :FigureZis amelevationalzview of'the apparatus illustrated vFigure 21, 'lookingi-ngsthe Ldirection of itheizarrows Leela-of Figures 1:- and: showing rthe relative l-fposition ofgithevgparts thereof atuthe sta'rtzofiaibulbcfeedingicyclegg 1:1: J J l' 1: xEigure; 3 a; is; afragmentary; elevational .view oi the-. apparatusi showing the. o relative wsposition of the pa-rtsrthereofiat thefstart ofza bulbrfeeding cyc1.i'. a

.i-Figure I v.a fragmentary: elevat1on'al view ;of th apparatuszshowingzthe' bulb? feeding -tturret intretractedepos'ition and the: bulb carried iby the bulb' trainsferihead displaced-sufficiently from the: vertical toxprovide "forlthe::culletr1thereof to pass outside the fingersr of th sealing; machine c bulb holder.-:;.:

.1" Figure fragmentary eleva'tional view Tof theiapparatus showingithexbulb carried by the bulb transfer head being returned to thevertic'al after the cullet thereof hasspassedsthe fingers of the:;-sealing. machine bulbahol'der;. 1,5 4 '-;.':Fi'gure.16 :isliane'ienlarged vertical sectional viewa eReferringz. now i'to; l the I drawings, particularly Figure Dth'ereohlithatzportion of-the rotatable: turret: typeslamprzexhaust l'machine' 10 .which is shown zco'mprises, :a :table l 2 1..-with; :a :plurality of. heads; I45 mountedzjlthereon adjacent .to; the lpe-o riphery i. thereof; Eachl head AM: comhrises spindle B Sand a bulb holder 18, thebulb holder having three bulb holding fingers 2 il formedin tegral therewith Abulb' feeding: turret 22}- which has a-plurality of: bulb holding heads 23 'dis posedeabout: the .periphery: thereof and which "is" disposed" adjacentv to: the .ipe'ripheryr' :of: table 12 of. the exhaust machine l'll jis mounted-5 on shaft? 24 5 upstanding. on ierosshead 2 5. slida'bly mounted" on fixed: bars 28.'=;i'I-abl 30', attached tubers-:26 by screws'r-32; servesas l a support for bracket-5A whichui'simounted thereon bylscrew's 3 6 Station'- ary cam'i'38f isnmountedionebracket 34iand .overa lies the table-'12 ofi the lamp fexhaust machine .19. Bulb transfer arm" filly-mounted "on shaft .42; sup

3 ports a rod 44 extending therethrough at the other end thereof. The shaft 42' is supported by arms 46.

Referring now to Figure 2, the shaft 42 has a block 48 mounted on the lower end thereof. The block 48 has a pin 50 projecting therefrom which rides in elongated slot 52 in lever 54; The lever 54 which is pivotally mounted on standard 56 at 58, is provided with a counter-weight B0. Cam roller 62 mounted on lever 54 rides on barrel cam 64. The rod 44, which is mounted on the free end of bulb transfer arm 40, has a block 66 mounted thereon, to which a vacuum line 68 is connected. The lower end of rod 44 is provided with a block 10 mounted thereon. Block 12-,

which is fixedly mounted on block 10, supports bulb transfer suction head 14 which is pivotally mounted thereon by means of the spring-loaded pin 16. The bulb transfer suction head 14 is provided with a cam roller 18 mounted on a screw 79.

Referring now to Figure 3, the block 12 is fixedly attached to block 10 by screws 80. The block '12 has a pair of stop pins 82 projecting from a face thereof on opposite sides of the bulb transfer head 14 to define the limits of the oscillation of the bulb transfer head 14 about its pivot 16. Stationary cam 38 is adjustably mounted on bracket 34 by means of screws 84 which extend through elongated slots 86 in bracket 34. Cam 38 has a channel 88 cut therein, through which cam follower l8 rides as the bulb transfer head 14 carries bulb 90 downwardly to a position on the bulb holder l8 of head I4 above and in register with a mount $2 seated on the top of spindle l6.

Referring now to Figure 6, the block 12 is pro-' vided with a spring loaded ball bearing 94 which normally seats in a recess 96 in the adjacent face of bulb transfer head 14. The block 12 is provided with a boss 98 which serves as a seat for one end of spring 500 which loads pin 16 on which the bulb transfer head 14 is pivotally mounted. The bottom of the bulb transfer suction head 14 is provided with an opening I02 therein in which a gasket E04 is seated. The opening I02 is in register with a chamber I06 in the head 14. The chamber N38 is in communication with vacuum line 68 (Fig. 2), through a series of chambers {08 in head 74, H in block 72, H2 in block and H4 in rod 44 (Fig. 6), and H6 in block 66 (Fig. 2).

The operation of the apparatus will'now be described. Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, bulbs 90 are transferred from the bulb holding heads 23 on the bulb feeding turret 22 to the bulb holders it of the heads i4 on the lamp exhaust machine it by the bulb transfer head i4. Bulbs 99 are fed to the heads 23 on the turret 22 in any suitable manner. Crosshead 2t is reciprocate'cl on bars 28 to move a head 23 on the bulb feeding. turret 22 into and out of a bulb transfer position wherein a bulb 90, seated in a head 23, is in register with the bulb transfer head 14 and a head M of the lamp exhaust machine l0 and is disposed therebetween as is shown in Figure 2. Reciprocation of the crosshead to move the turret 22 from the position shown in phantom to the position shown in solid in Figure 1 may be ef fected by some suitable mechanism, such as by reciprocation of the rod 29 (Fig. 1) for example.-

Referring now to Figure 2, the bulb transfer suction head i4 is moved downwardly into contact with the top of the bulb 00 and then moved upwardly with the bulb 90- held therein. This reciprocation of the bulb transfer suction head T4 is effected by the barrel cam 64 through cam roller 62, lever 54, shaft 42, transfer arm 40 and rod 44. Immediately after the suction head 14 has lifted the bulb from the head 23 of turret 22, the turret 22 is retracted to the position shown in phantom in Figure 1 and at the same time indexed (by means not shown) one station to move a bulb-carrying head 23 into position for the next delivery stroke of the turret 22. The shaft 42 then moves downwardly to effect delivery of the bulb 00 by the suction head 14 to the bulb holder I8.

Referring now to Figure 4, as the suction head 14 moves downwardly with the bulb 90, the cam follower 1 8 moves through the irregular channel 88 cut in stationary cam 38. Since the suction head 14 which carries the bulb 90 is pivotally mounted at 16, the head 14 is deflected to the right (Fig. 4) and the cullet SI of bulb 90 is displaced sufficiently to move it out of register with the bulb holding fingers 20 of bulb holder 18. The bulb 90 moves downwardly in this canted position until after the cullet 9| thereof has passed the bulb holding fingers 20 of the bulb holder 18. The contour of the channel 83 is such that at this point the suction head 74 is returned to the vertical position and the remainder of the delivery stroke thereof is completed and the bulb S0 is seated on the fingers 20. The vacuum line 68 (Fig. l) is then interrupted momentarily to effect release of the bulb 90 from the suction head 14. The suction head 14 then returns to its normal starting position. When cam follower I8 moves out of channel 68 in cam 38 the suction head 14 is substantially vertical. It is maintained in this position and prevented from freely oscillating about its pivot 16 by the ball bearing 34 (Fig. 6) which seats in recess 96.

What we claim is:

1. Apparatus for feeding a bulb to a bulb holder comprising: a pivotally mounted bulb transfer head disposed above and in register with the bulb holder; a cam follower mounted on said head; means for reciprocating said bulb transfer head toward and from the bulb holder to effect delivery of a bulb carried by said bulb transfer head to the bulb holder; and a stationary cam disposed adjacent to the path traversed by said bulb transfer head, said cam having an irregular path formed therein through which the cam follower travels during the reciprocation of said bulb transfer head whereby the bulb transfer head is rotated about its pivot and the bulb carried by said head is displaced from a substantially vertical posture for an interval during the transfer operation and then returned to the vertical.

2. Apparatus for feeding a bulb to a bulb holder comprising: a transfer arm; a bulb transfer head pivotally mounted on said arm and disposed above and in register with the bulb holder; a cam follower mounted on said head; means for reciprocating said transfer arm to effect movement of the bulb transfer head pivotally mounted thereon toward and from the bulb holder to effect delivery of a bulb carried by said bulb transfer head to the bulb holder; and a stationary cam disposed adjacent to the path traversed by said bulb transfer head, said cam having an irregular path formed therein through which the cam follower travels during the reciprocation of said bulb transfer head whereby the bulb transfer head is rotated about its pivot and the bulb carried by said head is displaced from a substantially vertical posture for an interval during the transfer operation and then returned to the vertical.

3. Apparatus for feeding a bulb to a bulb holder having a plurality of bulb-supporting fingers defining a seat for the bulb, said apparatus comprising: a transfer arm; a bulb transfer head pivotally mounted on said arm and disposed above and in register with the bulb holder; a cam follower mounted on said head; means for reciprocating said bulb transfer head toward and from the bulb holder to effect delivery of a bulb carried by said bulb transfer head to the seat defined by the bulb-supporting fingers of the bulb holder; and a stationary cam disposed adjacent to the path traversed by said bulb transfer head, said cam having an irregular path formed therein through which the cam follower travels during the reciprocation of said bulb transfer head whereby the bulb transfer head is rotated about its pivot and the cullet of the bulb carried by said head passes outside the seat defined by the bulb supporting fingers as the bulb approaches its seat on the holder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

